Margaret Aimee Upham's Obituary
Peggy to her friends and family was a part of the fabric of the Greatest Generation. Born on 1/19/1924 in Dallas, her roots from her mother’s parents were from the French pioneers who settled the La Reunion community of Dallas knowing they wanted a better life. Her character was set in the Great Depression as her parents, sisters, and brother found their way through education, hard work, and good decisions. The family moved to Arkansas following her dad’s work. Peggy and her sisters and brother graduated from De Queen High School. Her independence came well before today’s buzzword of STEM. Science and math were core to her public education; her technology was a slide rule. She was one of a group of 900 young women selected to support her country in WWII by learning aeronautics at Purdue University while drafting aircraft designs in the Curtiss-Wright Engineering Cadettes program. As an adult, she wore many hats and wore them well. After WWII, Peggy returned for a short time to De Queen then moved back to Dallas starting a career in drafting for Lone Star Gas. Like so many of her generation, she met a WWII and Korean War veteran; she married Richard “Dick” Upham on 8/19/1949. Peggy’s next hat was as a mom. She was all the good parts of a “soccer mom” and certainly was certainly not a “helicopter mom”. She along with a great set of “community moms” allowed the Woodlawn and later the Trailridge gang to play all the baseball, football, army, skateboard, and creek roaming they wanted within a slim set of rules mostly bounded only by lunch and dinner times, homework, and a core set of solid ethics. She supported the building of the backyard putting green that was the basis for many lasting friendships formed in that lower Kiest Park neighborhood. Peggy was unpaid Uber for many Oak Cliff Riverlake junior golfers. Peggy’s hats continued to expand, as a businesswoman and entrepreneur. She found a niche with her science and drafting backgrounds becoming what would today might be called a seismic-graphic artist researching and putting together presentations of oil and gas fields without aid of a computer. She proved her worth in an energy spin off from Republic National Bank that became American Airlines Energy and then the Howard Company. Peggy’s abilities and confidence grew; she formed her own small business providing old fashioned drafting services to independent oil and gas clients and wore that hat until her eighties. She was thankful to so many men and women in her career. She found time to be a caretaker for her mom and her great aunt while they weathered through the trials of their nursing homes. Another hat for her – that of a grandmother – fit well. Both Brent and Travis benefitted from chauffeuring, trips, and Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. May the French bread sausage dressing recipe be carried for many generations! Peggy had one more hat to try – volunteering. She formed many new friendships as she returned to some of her passions. Inspired by her mom’s floral shop, Peggy loved the Dallas Arboretum and volunteered in the Guest Information booth. She loved aviation and volunteered at the Love Field Friends of Flight Museum providing education and materials for school age tours. She stayed active until November 2016, when a broken hip started a downward spiral. She passed away on March 20, 2017, closing one more thread in the fabric of the Greatest Generation. She was preceded in death by her parents William Elbert and Emelliane “Milly” Alix Cornetet Adams, her sisters Rosemary Adams Poeschel and Ernestine Adams “EA” McLeod. She is survived by sister Ruth Adams Stewart of Wichita Falls and brother Jean Adams and wife Frankie of Ft. Worth, her son Steve Upham and wife Claire Howard of Richardson, her grandsons Brent and wife Erica of Dallas, and Travis and wife Claire of Houston, and numerous nieces and nephews. Peggy quietly impacted and improved the lives of many across three generations. She sacrificed not because of she had to but to build a better future for her family. Donations may be made to The Dallas Arboretum, Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas County Pioneer Association, or the St, John’s Episcopal School of Dallas. Visitation will be Friday evening 4/14 from 7:00 to 9:00 at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas. Memorial service will be on Saturday 4/15 at 12:30 in the Wildwood Chapel at Restland in Dallas followed by a short graveside service with a reception following. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
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